The Winter Pages is a hard-back annual compendium of new essays & fiction by (mainly) Irish writers. It’s beautifully produced and edited by the Olivia Smith and Kevin Barry team. On reading through it I can see there was a lot of thought put into what pieces were best suitable; there are common themes and concerns, the pieces ‘talk to each other’. My own essay, which I thought was a bit unusual when I submitted it, finds a natural place alongside pieces by Jan Carson and Wendy Erskine.

The volume is clearly intended be a Christmas Annual for book lovers – something to browse through when evenings are drawing in.